Stand Out Albums has been a showcase for my favorite albums across the vast performers that I love. Covering a little bit of everything from classic rock to country hits, much like Key Movies of My Life, it has been the albums that shaped me. This year, I am taking a slightly different approach by discussing the discographies of my favorite musicians, album by album, in release order.
Last week we started discussing a band that is best known for their biggest hit, Sex and Candy, by introducing you to their lesser known first album under the name Zog Bogbean. Today we discuss the debut album as Marcy Playground with their 1997 release of the same name.
Why This Album?
It’s sad that the song most people know Marcy Playground for is their radio and video hit Sex and Candy as John Wozniak and band have so much more to offer than just this single ultra-popular hit. I’ll admit, I too was first drawn in to this album by the aforementioned popular song, only, upon listening to the album I discovered that this band was something special in and of itself.
Opening with a song that documents the opium trade of the 18th and 19th centuries, this album goes on to explore themes of prostitution, cross dressing, self discovery and even stories of vampires. Through each song John Wozniak, Dylan Keefe and Dan Rieser create tales that are as dark as they are wonderful in a manner that could be seen as a precursor to the more popular singer songwriter folk style that has become so prevalent today. This album is far from over produced, choosing to focus on the music and story itself rather than create overblown studio sound that so many bands find themselves leaning toward. It is in their simplicity that I find each and every track on this album so enticing. If anything, what makes this album so wonderful is that each and every song tells a story of it’s own, if you want to listen to it that is.
Overall, this is a tremendous ‘first’ album from a band that would become best known for a single song. One hit wonder? Far from it, as they still had several albums after this initial intro to the world, which we will discuss in the coming weeks.
Favorite Tracks
Sherry Fraser. This song just speaks to me. I cant really explain why.
One More Suicide. This one has such a folk feel to it and I love every second.
The Shadow of Seattle. This is just a freakin cool song. seriously.
Ok, Where do I get it?
Usually I would send you to Amoeba Records but it looks like they are out at the time of this article so you should head over to Discogs and snag a REALLY INEXPENSIVE copy. We’re talking like 50 cents. Seriously. Just buy it. Sure you can listen here on spotify but having that disc in your hands. yeah. thats the ticket.
Late to the Game 12/21/2021
Thanks for reading, If you would like to read more reviews I have a weekly series called Key Movies Of My Life that comes out every Thursday and also check out some retro tv goodness with the ongoing series Retro TV Reviews here. You can also find a few of my other Music Reviews Here.
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